Outage map from PG&E website
A potential outage map on the PG&E website shows all of the Berkeley Hills and surrounding areas as contenders for the shut-off. Screenshot: PG&E

“PG&E has completely bungled it,” according to Lori Droste, Berkeley City Councilwoman.

Droste’s anger was provoked by the lack of clarity and information about the impending power shutdowns affecting much of northern California, including parts of Berkeley. For example, a PG&E spokesperson told Berkeleyside on Tuesday morning that there was still no decision about shutdowns. Droste and other public officials were hearing that it was certain.

PG&E finally confirmed that there would be a large-scale shutdown at 2 p.m.

When Droste sent an email to constituents about the shutdown, she included a link to PG&E’s own website, where users could find maps to see if their home was affected. But correct links to the website didn’t work. Droste described that as “shocking.”

“For a pleasant midwesterner, I’m extremely livid,” she said. “There was a real lapse in judgment in rolling out this safety protocol.”

The city of Berkeley is advising residents to be prepared for up to six days for both planned and unplanned outages.

Berkeley resident Fred Vogelstein’s tweet was typical of some of the reaction.

Berkeleyan Pat Mapps asked on Facebook, “What about health care facilities, pharmacies, grocery stores, banks, ATMs, gasoline stations, hotels (where people might think of staying to have power while this is happening), traffic lights, restaurants, people who need power to stay alive, etc? Will all of these critical resources also be without power?”

Some tweeters took a different stance.

https://twitter.com/johnholland/status/1181702076918710272

Berkeleyan Quentin Hardy provided a different perspective.

Read more about public safety power shutoff events in Berkeley.

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Lance Knobel (Berkeleyside co-founder) has been a journalist for nearly 40 years. Much of his career was in business journalism. He was editor-in-chief of both Management Today, the leading business magazine...